A Family of Friends
by cabbageoriley
Summary: Part 6 of my series! A collection of stories about all the members of the Hale pack. Again, a special thanks to Sterek's Beta, who is amazing!
1. Pups

Isaac looks over at his three little pups as they play with the rest of the pack kids. Really, he shouldn't call his children 'pups' anymore. The triplets turned ten a few months ago. They really aren't babies any longer, but he has basically refused to believe that they're growing up so quickly. But, other than Wyatt, Jackson and Lydia's youngest son, Isaac's three daughters are the youngest kids in the pack, so he'll be able to get away with calling them 'pups' for a while longer.

Amy, Isaac's beautiful wife, sits down beside him on the back steps of the house. She lovingly wraps her arms around his shoulders and leans her head on him. "What'cha thinking about?"

"The girls," Isaac sighs. "I can't believe they're ten."

"They're growing up fast."

They begin to reminisce about Sophia, Leah, and Eva. "It seems like just yesterday…"

…

Isaac and Amy have been together for quite a few years now, but something is still missing in their lives. They've been trying to have kids since the day they got married. Expanding the family is such a strong urge for most couples, but when both are werewolves that urge is even stronger. It's even stronger for Isaac, considering he has no biological family of his own left anymore.

It has been hard seeing everyone else in the pack start their own little families. Amy and Isaac tied the knot soon after Jackson and Lydia welcomed Alexis into the world. Allison and Scott had Jason. Then, along came Michael, Boyd and Erica's pride and joy, and soon after that Lydia had Luke. When will it ever be their turn?

They're the only members of the pack that don't have a kid now. Most of the families even have more than just one, so Isaac and Amy are way behind. They haven't really mentioned anything to the pack, but they've been seriously trying for so long now. Amy picked up some books from the library, and Isaac did some research online. They've even gone to Deaton for advice, but nothing has worked. Months and years have gone by and still no baby Lahey.

So now, since they don't have any kids to worry about, they're the first to enlist on the pack's newest mission. Derek has received word that one of his parents' allies is in danger from another pack. Half of their territory has been stolen, and most of their betas have been killed. They had been hoping the Hale pack would come and help them, and Derek seems to be preparing for war.

Isaac and Amy are the first to volunteer and are soon followed by Boyd and Scott. Jackson doesn't volunteer, but for once it's not because he's still a jerk. Lydia is pregnant with their third child, and there is no way he is leaving her by herself. Stiles also chooses to stay behind. There's no reason for both Alphas to walk into what could be an ambush. Plus, there needs to be someone else keeping an eye on all of the pack women and children. Laura, ever the adventurous one, begs to go, but Derek simply kisses her on the head and tells her 'maybe next time."

When the small army arrives in Oregon, the forest looks like a warzone. The trees are scratched and broken, and two of the three pack houses are burned to the ground. If Derek had fur right now it would be bristling. He hates the sight and smell of ruined homes.

It doesn't take long for the enemy pack to make their move. Their pack is few in number, smaller than the Hale/Blakemore team, but they're dirty fighters. It doesn't take long for both Boyd and Amy to be injured and down for the count. They huddle together out of sight of the others until they can heal and join back in.

The sight of Amy's blood makes Isaac furious, and he viciously tears into the opposing Alpha. Before he can finish him off, Derek pulls him away so Isaac won't have to become something he doesn't want to be. Derek slashes through bone and tissue and rises up to stand over his kill. He turns his attention to the only two remaining betas and growls at them.

"Get off of this land or prepare to die."

The two betas scurry off into the woods. Boyd stands and limps over to his Alpha. "Prepare to die? Really?"

"Stiles made me watch that stupid movie last week," Derek sighs. "It's all I could think of."

"Derek," Scott calls. He is leaning over the crumpled body of the Blakemore Alpha. Derek walks over to him.

"He's dying. There's nothing I can do."

"No. He's trying to say something. I listened, but I can't make it out."

Derek kneels beside Mr. Blakemore whose silvery gray hair is matted with blood. He leans in close and struggles to decipher the garbled words. "Daughter?" He watches as the man tries to nod. "Where is she?"

"Cellar," he grinds out as his last breath leaves his body.

Derek closes the old man's glassy eyes and begins to move toward the house. Upon going inside, he takes a deep breath and tries to ignore the bodies around him. He makes his way to the basement and carefully passes down the last corridor. Derek can hear Amy's horrified gasp and muffled gagging.

"She's dead." Derek turns back so he can leave the claustrophobic room, but Isaac stops him.

"Wait, I hear something." The four other wolves watch as Isaac steps toward the body. He carefully shifts the remains and looks at what the body had been laying on top of. Amy hurries over to him.

"She had pups." Amy starts to cry as she slowly lifts up one of the three sleeping bundles. "How could they kill her?!"

Isaac picks up one baby and hands it to Scott before picking up the last one. "Derek, what do we do?"

Boyd walks forward. "They don't have any pack left."

Derek looks between Isaac, Amy, and the three little babies. "We'll take them… Adopt them into our pack. Someone has to; we can't leave them here." He places his hand on Amy's shoulder. "You're up for triplets, right?"


	2. Prank

Nathan is sitting next to his twin, Logan, listening to his dad lecture them. They had been sent home from school after a prank their teacher didn't think was funny.

"You boys are better than this! This is like the third time this year!" Stiles is furious.

"But Dad! Mr. Wilson didn't even get hurt (_concussions don't really count, right?_)," Logan argues. "It's not our fault he can't handle a bit of fun." Stiles stares at Logan who looks sheepishly back at him before adding a quick, "Just kidding."

"Ok guys, this is your last warning before we start dishing out punishments, understood?" Stiles crosses his arms over his chest, trying to mimic the intense intimidating powers his husband possesses.

Logan nods hastily. Nathan rolls his eyes, but grunts his agreement. They wait until after their Dad leaves the room before they start talking to each other.

"Well, that was fun," Nathan whispers. Logan nods. "We need to take a break from the teachers, but I thought of something else we can do." Nathan sneers, and his twin looks up and frowns. "How do you feel about visiting grandpa and his files?"

Logan returns his brother's grin with his own wolfy smirk.

… And that's how they end up grounded two nights later…

Mr. Stilinski takes pride in his home office. It's always perfectly organized- never a folder out of place. That's how he knows something is wrong. When he sits down at his desk, he notices that there is one piece of yellow writing paper haphazardly jutting out of the top drawer.

Most people would dismiss the idea that someone had been snooping around where they didn't belong, but after years of being Sheriff… Well, he knows someone has been rummaging through his desk. He opens up every drawer and every file. He curses under his breath when he realizes the extent of the damage.

Pages of the Benson file are in the Raolly file. Pages from the Ashby file are stapled to the back of the MacDonald folder. Some folders are completely stapled shut, and is that super glue? Where are all of his paper clips? All of the rubber bands are tied in knots. And, then he sees the doodles.

"Those stupid kids…" Stilinski sighs. He flips through the pages of the case files that are filled with doodles. Some of the mug shots have mustaches drawn on them- male or female it doesn't matter. Some notes are scribbled out and alternate words have been added. There are stick figure gun fights, high speed chases on pogo sticks, crime scene photos from a 'cereal' killing…

He tries not to laugh; he really tries. Fury flows through his system at the thought of Nathan and Logan looking through the classified files, but… Darn it, those are his grandkids. It's slightly hilarious. He allows himself to chuckle for a moment, but then he steels himself and collects the damage in a large cardboard box.

He knocks on the Hale house door and waits patiently until it is opened. Derek has a look on his face that asks 'why did you feel like you had to knock', but he doesn't speak. Mr. Stilinski motions to the box that is sitting beside him. "Will you take this inside for me? I need to have a talk with you and Stiles."

Derek bends down and picks up the box. He sits it down in the living room and goes into the kitchen to get Stiles.

"I didn't do anything," Stiles says out of habit.

"Oh, I know you didn't," Mr. Stilinski smirks, "but two little some ones did." He points to the box.

Stiles sighs and forces himself to look inside. He pulls out folder after folder and gets angrier and angrier. The growl that escapes his lips is deep and furious. He stalks over to the stairs. "Logan Alexander and Nathan Robert HALE! Don't you dare even think about coming down these stairs to find out why you're in trouble. You KNOW why you're in trouble. YOU'RE GROUNDED! G-R-O-U-N-D-E-D!"

The three men can hear the hushed 'uh-oh' from upstairs.


	3. Meet the Parents

Stiles takes a deep breath, opens the front door, and sees the young girl standing on the porch. Her strawberry blond hair reminds him of Lydia. So much has changed since they were all that age. Seeing this young girl brings back all kinds of memories. And… oh gosh, he's staring.

"Mr. Hale?"

"Yes, sorry, come on in." Stiles steps to the side and lets the girl enter the house. "I'm Stiles Hale- Nathan's dad." He looks over his shoulder. "Derek, get over here."

Derek walks over and shakes the girl's hand. "I'm Derek Hale- Nate's father."

"It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Lycea, but you already know that." She laughs nervously.

Nathan bounces down the stairs and hurries to the door. "Hey, Lycea."

"Hey."

"Thanks for coming. I know this place is a little far out into the Preserve." Nathan leads her farther into the house.

"It's beautiful out here. I've always liked the woods. Hearing the leaves crunch beneath my feet…" Lycea smiles, and Nathan smiles in return.

Derek and Stiles share glances between each other. This girl must be something really special because Nathan never smiles that easily. Derek nods at Stiles.

"Well, dinner's almost ready." Derek starts to walk toward the dining room. "Follow me."

Derek, Stiles, Laura, Logan, Nathan, and Lycea eat dinner for a while and make small talk. Half way through the meal Laura thinks of an interesting question to ask.

"So, Lycea… Your name is… different."

Lycea smiles. "I'm surprised it took so long for someone to bring that up. I can blame my grandmother for that." She chuckles. "Yiayia is a little old Greek woman. Her dying wish was for me to be named Lycea, so my parents decided to give me that name to honor her. Only thing is, she's still alive. Guess it wasn't her time to go when she thought it was."

Everyone laughs.

"What does the name mean," Laura asks.

"Oh gosh, you don't want to know. My grandmother swears she is psychic." Lycea rolls her eyes. The rest of the people at the table smile and wait for her to continue. "Everyone else just thinks she's crazy. So, the story goes that, on the night she found out my mom was going to have a baby, she had a dream. She saw a little girl in the woods being guarded on all sides by a pack of wild animals. Anyway, that's what prompted her to name me Lycea- belonging to a wolf."

Stiles gasps and chokes on the food in his mouth. He leans back from the table and hits himself in the chest.

"Oh my gosh," Lycea gapes. "Mr. Hale, are you okay?"

Stiles nods. "I'm good." He takes a drink of water and pretends not to notice Nathan hiding his face in his hands. "That really is an interesting name."

"Oh," she groans, "don't even get me started on the rest of my name. It's horrible. You never know what you'll get stuck with when you have a Greek heritage on one side and an Irish or Celtic heritage on the other side. Imagine having to learn to write 'Lycea Alastrine Conor in kindergarten. It's horrible."

"What do those names mean?" Logan asks, and Nathan kicks him under the table. Nathan sheepishly looks up at his father, and Derek glares back at him.

"Well," Lycea begins, "Alastrine means 'defends mankind' and Conor derives from a word meaning 'wolf lover'."

"Of course it does," Derek sighs. "Nathan, can I see you in the kitchen for a minute?"

Nathan slowly trails behind his father. When they're in the kitchen, he finally speaks up. "Dad…"

"You knew what her name meant, and you still brought her here." Derek crosses his arms over his chest. "I can't believe you."

"Names aren't used literally like they used to be."

"I was worried about Quinn, but this… Nate, what if she's dangerous? Now she knows where we live."

"Lycea? Oh come on. She couldn't hurt a fly." Nathan starts walking backward toward the dining room. "Plus, if her name really does mean something, it's 'wolf lover' not 'wolf killer' or anything like that. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"I don't like this."


	4. Killer

Nathan grabs his jacket and starts to walk outside with Lycea. They slowly walk toward the lot at the entrance to the Preserve where her parents are planning on picking her up.

"It'll be nice when we finally get our licenses, won't it?" Nathan expects her to answer, but she remains silent. "What's on your mind?"

She stops walking and turns to look at him. "Your dads didn't like me very much, did they?"

"What? They loved you!" Nathan averts his eyes when she looks at him and rolls her eyes. "Ok, so, maybe they didn't."

"I knew it." She sighs and looks down at her feet. "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing… They just… don't like talking about wolves. Your name made them nervous."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that's what they don't like about me." She flails around a little bit. "First impressions are everything, and now they hate me."

Nathan hugs her. "Maybe we could… do something next weekend. The pack… I mean, my parents' friends are coming over next Saturday. There's going to be a cookout and four wheelers and… It'll be fun. You can totally come and redeem yourself."

"Ok. We'll plan on that then." Lycea tries to smile. Nathan leans over and kisses her before they turn and start walking the rest of the way to the parking lot.

Saturday is even worse than dinner. Derek is super growly and paranoid the whole night. Stiles is jittery, and, because the Alphas are nervous, the whole pack is nervous. Which, by the way, is so stupid because there's nothing to be nervous about!

Everyone is on their four wheelers now, and most of the younger pack members are having a great time. Lycea has never driven one before, so Nathan is sitting behind her as they fly through the forest.

When it happens, everyone within a two mile radius hears Lycea's scream followed by the screeching of tires. Each person drives toward the sound and hurries to see what's going on. Tears are streaming down her face as she points to the ground behind the four wheeler.

Derek cautiously walks over to her and his son. He looks at the ground and sees the flattened remains of a small squirrel. He can't help but start to laugh.

"I just wanted to make a good impression, but you hated me the first time we met, and now I'm a squirrel killer." She begins to sob. "I'm just going to go. I'm sorry."

"No," Derek starts. "You don't have to leave. Don't worry about it. I've killed more than one squirrel before."

"About twenty to be exact," Stiles mumbles under his breath. "And then I have to remind you to floss the fur out of your teeth." Thankfully, none of the humans hear his words.

"It's okay. I'm sure you didn't mean to kill it," Derek continues after giving Stiles his 'Really, stop being an idiot' expression.

Lycea shakes her head. "It ran out in front of me. I couldn't stop in time."

"Nate, go grab a shovel. We'll help her bury it; if that will make her feel better."

Everyone watches as Nate and Lycea bury the baby squirrel. The mood seems to be lightened after that. Who knew killing a squirrel could be such a bonding experience?


	5. Logan and the Kitty

Derek watches as one of his sons runs past him shouting his hello. Granted, Logan is a teenager but, for the past years Logan always runs to the kitchen after school. So what makes today so different? A moment later, Derek finds himself outside Logan's room door. He knocks.

"Yeah!" Logan shouts on the other side of the door. Derek frowns as he hears hurried shuffling from behind the door.

"Logan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm fine. Uh…I'll be down in a minute."

Over the years Derek has picked up on many habits and quirks from all three of his children. So this display from his energetic twin sets off his father sensors.

"Do you mind me coming in?" Derek probes instead.

There is a crash and stumbling before Logan opens the door and stumbles out, closing the door behind him. The actions remind him of when Stiles tried to keep his father from coming into his room when he was trying to hide Derek all those years ago.

"What's going on?" Logan asks, throwing a smile his father's way.

Derek crosses his arms, "I don't know, son. How about you tell me?"

Suddenly, behind the door his son is sprawled in front of, Derek hears a muffled meow. He frowns and his mouth drops open a bit.

"Logan, is there something you need to tell me?"

"Uh…no?"

Logan, since birth, always spent most of his time with his father, Derek. So Logan knew without even being told that his dad knew he was lying.

"I had to, Dad," he breaks, babbling just like Stiles. "She was all alone, and I think her mom was dead. I couldn't just leave her. I got everything from Deaton, and he said all she needs is love. Besides she trusts me, and already bonded with me. I won't leave her."

The last sentence is said with so much determination Derek knows his son will not give the animal away without a fight.

"Let me see it," Derek sighs.

Logan grins and gives his dad a quick hug before leading the older man into the bedroom. On the bed, wrapped with a towel, is a black and white tabby cat. Derek almost laughs. Seriously?! A teenage werewolf with a pet cat… Yeah, like he saw that coming.

"Well, we'll have to tell your dad, but I'm sure he won't have a problem; but, you'll have to take care of him…"

"Her."

"… her yourself. Don't expect anyone to do it for you."

Logan is actually bouncing with exhilaration. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"

Derek is embraced in another hug, and even receives a sloppy kiss.

"Ok, ok," Derek chuckles.

Logan turns toward the kitten and cradles the animal to him, totally forgetting his dad who watches on.

"I told you I would take care of you. Nothing's ever going to happen to you," Logan coos softly.

Derek watches the adorable scene unfold before him, then steps out of the room; and heads back downstairs. That night Logan introduces "Katniss" to the rest of the pack. Derek watches his son's over-protectiveness for the fragile kitten and can't help but smile. This would only happen in his pack- his family… And he still wouldn't trade them for anything.


	6. Yiayia knows best

"Good morning, Yiayia." Lycea hugs her grandmother as she enters the house. "How are you?"

"I don't sleep well at night. My knee tells me it will be raining on Saturday. I have to go to that hateful young man to pick up my new eye-glass prescription…"

"There's someone I want you to meet…" Lycea tries to get her attention, but the little old woman powers through her list of complaints.

"No one helps the elderly across the street anymore."

"He's in the living room…"

"Most of my days are spent at home feeding the cats."

"Grandma… please…"

"My bowels haven't moved since Tuesday."

Lycea is completely mortified. She really doesn't want her boyfriend to hear about her grandmother's current bout of constipation, and, oh dear goodness, she's still speaking!

"Your grandfather has been gone for thirty years now. Sadly, my sex life died with him."

"Yiayia!" Lycea's face is bright red. She can hear Nathan laughing in the other room.

"Who's that?" the little old woman asks.

"That's… my boyfriend."

"Oh!" Yiayia shuffles into the living room. Nathan stands up from his spot on the couch to greet her.

"It's nice to meet you." The blush he inherited from Stiles is still rosy on his cheeks.

"What's your name? You look awfully familiar."

"I'm Nathan Hale, ma'am."

"Really…" She turns around to look at Lycea. "This one's a keeper, dear."

Nathan leaves after a slice (or two) of coffee cake so Lycea can have some time alone with her grandmother. The woman lives quite a few miles from Beacon Hills, so Lycea doesn't get to see her that often.

"Where did you meet him?" the grandmother asks.

"At school. I know it sounds silly, but… From the first time I saw him, I knew I wanted to be with him. It took a while, but he finally talked to me, and… I don't know. There's just something about him."

"Not silly at all, dear." She places her strong, black coffee down on the table. "Have you spent much time with his family?"

"Some, but not a lot." Lycea shrugs. "They're a little strange."

"How so?"

"They live out in the woods, which is fine, but… When I'm around them, I feel so small, so fragile. Everything about them emanates power. Their house is like a fortress. The way they hold themselves- present themselves. Especially Nathan's father."

"Maybe he was a serviceman, dear."

"Not that I know of. And, it's not just him, it's all of them. All of Nate's family. All of the family friends. It's not like they've been in the Army; it's like they are an army."

"And who is the General?" the old woman asks, her eyes full of mischief and understanding.

"Definitely Nate's father, but his dad is pretty close sometimes."

"Excuse me?"

Lycea laughs a bit at her grandmother's confused expression. "His parents are gay, Yiayia."

"Really? Well that's strange."

"Not anymore. It's pretty well accepted now."

"No, I mean for were…" She puts a hand up to her mouth to stop herself. "Where were we? Talking about his father, I believe."

"Yeah, his father is definitely the leader of the family. He's in absolute control. It's strange sometimes." Lycea steals another bite of the coffee cake. "To everyone associated with the family, he's like the king or something. I know we live in a mostly patriarchal society, but really Grandma… It's a little much."

"Do you feel safe with them?"

It doesn't take long for Lycea to think. "Yes."

"Then that's all that matters."


	7. Be Mine, Sour Wolf

Derek walks through the front door of the empty Hale house and is immediately met with a thick wall of cologne. It makes his eyes water and his throat burn. He smiles, though, and shakes his head. Nathan. He should have known his love sick son would go all out for Lycea on Valentine's Day.

He shrugs his jacket off, throws it on the couch and moves into the kitchen. Back tracking a little, he leans his head out and looks at the stairs. Each step has a piece of chocolate on it. He can hear Stiles upstairs, so Derek picks up the chocolates as he goes and walks to the bedroom.

When he opens the door, Derek sees Stiles lying on the bed… He clearly put a lot of thought into this 'sexy' evening. So, what does Derek do? – He ruins the moment.

"Stiles, is there a dog in our house?"

Stiles' grin fades from his face. He is clearly confused. "Um… Not that I know of… Why?"

"Something crapped all over the stairs."

Stiles flops back on the bed as he rolls his eyes. The smile on Derek's face is so gigantic that it forces his eyes to squint just a little bit and makes a few wrinkles become visible. "You're such an idiot, Der." Stiles shakes his head but smiles when Derek crawls onto the bed and begins kissing him.

"Happy Valentine's Day, babe."

"Happy Valentine's Day." Stiles kisses him once more. "So, since you thought all those chocolates were pieces of dog poop, you didn't sample any, did you?"

"Was I supposed to?" Derek asks.

Stiles groans, "Yes, you were supposed to try them."

Derek reaches into his pockets and pulls out all of the candies. He drops them on the bed. Derek huffs a laugh when he sees Stiles roll his eyes. He picks up a piece. It's almost to his mouth when Stiles slaps it out of his hand.

"Wait! Do you know which one is which?! There's an order!"

"No. I don't know."

Stiles is completely exasperated. "Great. Just great."

"What's wrong?" Derek asks.

"Nothing, just hold on." Stiles picks up a piece of chocolate and smells it. He can't really tell what flavor it is, so he pinches it open. Then, he sits it down and picks up another piece.

Derek watches as his husband picks up each of the fourteen chocolates, pinches them open like Ethel in that one episode of _I Love Lucy_, and lines them up on the bed.

"Ok, now eat them," Stiles smiles.

"In order?"

"Yes, in order," he laughs. "You have to guess what flavor each one is."

"Maybe I don't want to eat them now that you've squeezed all of them open," Derek states.

"Just do it, Derek."

Derek takes the piece of candy that Stiles holds out to him. He puts it in his mouth. "Banana."

"Correct. Okay, now try this one." Stiles hands him another one.

"Coffee."

"Stronger. Think stronger."

"Espresso."

"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!" Stiles shouts. Derek just grins and keeps eating the chocolates.

The next one is mint. It takes him forever to figure out the one that is filled with Irish coffee mousse.

"Hazelnut."

"Hazelnut and chocolate, which is…"

"I don't know, Stiles."

"Nutella, Der. That one was filled with Nutella." Stiles gives Derek the next one as they continue to argue.

"Well, it's easy for you; you're the one that bought them."

"Try the next one."

"Espresso, again." Derek holds out his hand for another one because he knows Stiles is just going to shove it into his mouth if he refuses.

Then there's strawberry crème, orange, and ugli fruit. (Which, ugli fruit, really? How was Derek ever supposed to guess that?!) Next, there's raspberry, watermelon, another orange, lemon, and French crème.

Derek licks some chocolate off his thumb. Stiles is looking at him expectantly. "So…"

"So what?" Derek asks.

"Oh, Derek, the chocolates?! Did you notice anything about the chocolates?" Stiles waves his hands around in the air.

"They were good. There were a lot of them."

"What did they spell?"

"Spell?" Derek is really confused. "They didn't spell anything."

"Yes, they did," Stiles complains. "You just weren't paying attention. Banana, espresso, mint, Italian mousse, Nutella, espresso, strawberry, orange, ugli fruit, raspberry, watermelon, orange, lemon, French crème. Derek, think. This is so easy."

"For you… and maybe Lydia, but not me." Derek sighs and hopes clarity will find him soon. "I'm so confused right now, and I can still taste all fourteen pieces of chocolate in my mouth."

Stiles gets out of bed and grabs a piece of paper and a pen. "Look at the letters, Der."

He writes:

B anana

E spresso

M int

I talian mousse

N utella

E spresso

S trawberry

O range

U gli fruit

R aspberry

W atermelon

O range

L emon

F rench crème

Stiles points to the first letter of each word. "Be mine, Sour Wolf."

Derek smiles and kisses his mate. "Always."


	8. Sick Day

Nathan gets home from school and goes straight to his room. He has just finished a long hard week, and aches like nobody's business. Usually when he gets home he hangs out with the other kids in the pack for a bit, then heads over to Deaton's for a while; but today all he has the energy to do is get to his room and collapse on his bed. Nathan has been working his butt off to keep his position as captain on the lacrosse team, and to do that he has to make all "A's" and "B's" this semester. That's just one of the benefits of having a super smart twin who's in all the same classes.

It is Friday and that means he had the weekend to rest. Stiles sat him down a couple weeks ago telling him that he was working too hard; his dads had told him that he needed to take some time and rest for a while. However, the teen didn't give that advice any thought. He didn't see any of the other kids and teens in the pack getting told that they needed to 'rest', and the last thing he wanted was to be the only one sitting out just because he was the only human.

Being human used to bother Nathan. His parents and siblings are all werewolves, all the younger members of the pack are werewolves, and all his 'aunts' and 'uncles' are werewolves. His Aunt Allison had been human; but had taken the bite long before he was born. So that meant, for Nathan, that he had to be extra strong and skillful to keep up with the rest of the pack. Both his parents had agreed that when he turns eighteen that he can make the choice for himself. The first time his dad, Derek, told him that he was elated; but now he is stronger than he was then. Being human in his family is uniqueness in itself. Being able to use magic, and all the other fun things Deaton has taught him—he isn't about to give that away so quickly.

Anyways, this is how the fifteen year old ends up face down in his blankets and sheets feeling like he has been run over by a herd of elephants when Derek enters his room.

"Nate?"

"Hm?" Nathan doesn't move.

"What's going on? Deaton called me when you didn't show up at his office earlier." The sound of shifting in the room indicates that Derek is getting closer to his son. There is a sniffing sound then, "Are you sick? Your scent is off."

Nathan lifts his head slightly, squints at his father, grunts, and then lets his head drop back on his bed.

"Just tired." He mumbles to Derek.

Derek sits next to the flaccid body and places his hand on Nathan's forehead to estimate his temperature.

"No, I think you're coming down with something. Give me a few seconds, I'll be right back." With that Derek gets up and leaves the room. A few minutes later Nathan hears two sets of footprints. He doesn't even have to look up to know that both his parents are now present in the room.

"-Don't really know what it is though." The deeper voice he knows belongs to Derek.

"I'll take care of it, babe," the exuberant and lively voice belongs to his dad, Stiles. There is a quick kissing sound, and then the sound of Derek leaving the room.

Stiles doesn't hesitate. He goes to his son's bed and begins carding his fingers through the teen's hair. Stiles has been so busy lately trying to furnish a treaty for a pack in another region. So, all the time he normally spends catching up with Nathan has been filled with practice, school, treaties, and 'Alpha mate duties' that Stiles is occupied with.

"Hey buddy," Stiles speaks softly. "Your father said you're sick, and I gotta say I totally agree with him."

Nathan still doesn't move.

"Ok kiddo. Sit up." Stiles helps his struggling son into an upright position. "I need to look at your throat."

Stiles hasn't been a human in many years, but looking at his son now takes him back to a few times in his childhood that weren't too fun; and even before he looks into his son's mouth he knows what is wrong.

Strep throat.

The achy feeling that Nathan is feeling now is nothing compared to what is to come. Nevertheless; the older man looks into the teen's throat, sees the white blotches forming, and sighs.

"Oh Nate, you're in for a fun couple of days." Stiles says sympathetically. He sits up on the bed with his back against the headboard and brings his son down to lay his head on his lap. "Really fun couple of days."

~ooooooooo~

Since it is Friday and the whole pack is coming for movies Stiles just has Melissa to bring some Amoxicillin and popsicles for Nathan. A couple hours after resting the teen claims he is feeling better and gets up to work on some magic enchantment Deaton has taught him. Strep is an extremely contagious disease, so Stiles asks his son not to come downstairs until he is over the illness. Though werewolves could not get sick he doesn't need them carrying the virus for others to catch.

"Here you go, Stiles," Melissa hands her step son the bags and prescription medicine. "How is Nathan doing?"

"He says he's fine, but I'm giving his stubborn self a couple hours before he completely crashes."

Melissa smiles gently and nods.

Dinner brought the first suffering for Nathan. Stiles had insisted that Nathan eat soup to soothe this throat. The youth had thrown a big fit about how hungry he was, and how he wasn't about to let some sickness bring him down. He had yelled about how he was already locked upstairs in a "prison" and how he was sure a container of curly fries would fix him right up. Stiles, however, held his ground, and watched his kid scowl at him as the boy sipped down his broth. What Stiles hadn't counted on was his other son; Logan; slipping his twin brother chicken, fries, and corn. By the time he found out Nathan's food was reappearing in the toilet.

"Nathan," Stiles coos as his son throws up all his stomach contents. Logan, who wasn't even supposed to be near his brother, looks on in distress. He feels so guilty that Nathan has to take a moment between getting sick to calm his twin down, and by the time Nathan makes it back to the bed he is beyond exhausted. After settling the boy in Stiles gives him a pill, and leaves with a promise to check in soon.

~ooooooooo~

Derek stands at the head of Nathan's bed with his mate who is dabbing at the sweat on their son's face with a damp rag. He had been born a werewolf so he knows absolutely nothing about human illnesses except what he hears from someone else's experience. He hasn't given them much thought- a runny nose here and a cough there- but; as he watches his son's body rack from chills he can believe how wrong he had been. He has never felt this helpless since Stiles' miscarriage scare. When the sheriff and Melissa had left after pack night they had said, "Take care of our grandson." Yet, the more he looks down at his son the harder the request seems.

"How long does this last?" Derek whispers.

"About a week, but since we caught it right away hopefully we'll cut off a couple days."

"I sure hope so," Derek replies. "Almost makes me want to change him. I can't watch anymore of my family suffer."

Stiles turns to look at his partner and smiles understandingly before adding, "He'll be fine, babe. Everything will be fine."

~ooooooooo~

The next day, as expected, is worse. Stiles left for a couple hours in the morning, and Derek is on the verge of panic.

"Dad, calm down!" Laura shouts at her dad who is running around trying to find Nathan's pills that had been in plain sight on the counter he had searched four times. She picks the bottle up and places it in Derek's hand. She had wanted to go up and see her younger brother, but since she was going out later to volunteer at the Red Cross she couldn't have any kind of contact with the infection. Laura is the oldest of the three children, and she takes her position of eldest very seriously. She would protect her family from anything, and she knows they would do the same in return; but right now the only threat is her father not being able to concentrate through the fright he is currently feeling. Laura does the only thing she can think to do. She wraps her arms around Derek and squeezes. "Everything is going to be fine Dad. Please believe that."

"Ok," he whispers, takes a calming breath, and hugs his daughter closer to him. After a few moments of gathering himself Derek places a kiss to Laura's temple and sprints back upstairs to his violently shivering child. It takes several attempts before Nathan finally swallows the huge pill; then Derek wrestles him down and holds him down until he falls into a restless sleep.

By Sunday the chills start to come to an end, but then the battle with the fever and migraine start. Nathan isn't into showing his emotions too often, just another thing that he got from Derek. He would rather suffer in silence than cry out for help or anything like that- he is a very independent person. So when Stiles comes back into the room after making broth for his sick child and sees the teen silently crying, he freaks.

"Aw, Nate," Stiles sets the bowl down and crawls in to pull Nathan in for cuddles. "You're ok. Daddy's going to take care of you."

If Nathan wasn't so sick he would have scoffed and rolled his eyes at the babying he was getting from his dad, but all he can do now is wrap his arms tighter around Stiles and ride out the pain.

The fever has reached 103 degrees when Stiles carries Nathan into the bathroom across the hall, strips him down to his boxers, and sits with him in tub filled with cool water. Stiles sits with Nathan's back against his chest and his knees drawn up. The teen is mumbling unintelligently as Stiles whispers endearments, and waits for the fever to go down. About an hour has passed before Stiles decides that the water has done all it will do. He hands the unconscious child to his mate, and while Derek dresses the boy in dry clothes Stiles goes down to call someone who can relate to his situation—his dad.

"Hey son, how's it goin?"

"Not too awesome," Stiles replies exhausted. It has been almost four days and Nathan still isn't getting any better.

"It'll run its course, Stiles. Just hang in there. When you had strep it got so bad I had to rush you to emergency. So, it can always be worse."

Stiles sighs, "Yeah, ok Dad. It's just hard."

It is the moments like this when Sheriff Stilinski listens to his son, and is so proud of the man his boy has turned out to be—the great family man he turned out to be.

"You and Derek will be fine. It should start calming down by tonight or tomorrow morning. Though after this I suggest you get his tonsils taken out. You won't have to deal with strep again if you do."

"Thanks, Dad. I'll definitely talk to Derek about that."

The conversation ends soon after, and for the first time in a couple days he finds himself smiling.

~ooooooooo~

The fourth day comes and goes; and though Nathan is still lying in bed, he is looking a lot better. The swelling in his throat has gone down, and his fever and chills are long gone. Now he just has a bit of a sore throat and a small headache; but, he isn't entirely sure the headache is from the illness.

"DAD, PLEASE!" Nathan shouts from his perched position on his bed. Stiles has told him to stay in the room until they are 100% sure that he has healed. "I FEEL FINE!"

"You've been down for a week Nathan. Give your body some time to recuperate, "Stiles says calmly. He sets the soup he brought from the kitchen on the night stand next to his son's bed.

"I've been down for a couple days not a _whole _week, I feel fine. AND I'm NOT eating that stuff. Man, dad! I'm freakin hungry!

~ooooooooo~

It has been a whole week before Derek and Stiles deems Nathan healthy enough to come back downstairs. He has stirred up so much trouble that by the time he is free his parents have moved from panicked to annoyed.

"FREEDOM," Logan yells when he sees his twin jogging down the stairs. Logan, although his dads had told him not too, visited his brother often while he was recuperating. It was different because normally it was Nathan comforting him when he was having a bad day. No, he had never had to deal with a sickness, but it was hard to see his twin like that. "I missed you, bro!"

"That was seriously like jail time, dude," Nathan huffs pulling his brother toward the door. "I'm in serious need of some fresh air."

"Just never get sick again."

Nathan looks at his brother—at his best friend—and sends him one of his rare, but brilliant smiles. "I'll do my best."

As the two run out they can hear Stiles shouting out to them.

"You boys be careful, and stay out of trouble!"

~ooooooooo~

Stiles and Derek are settling in bed on Friday right after the weekly pack night. Nathan has gone to bed early because even though he had been elated to get back to his regular routine he is still suffering slight after effects of having strep. Throughout the whole ordeal neither of the adults had gotten much sleep.

"You know, I think we handled this really well." Stiles comments, cuddled into his husband's strong arms. They both had mini panic attacks, but he could proudly say neither of them broke down completely. The first time Nathan broke his arm Stiles needed just as much comfort as his son. It always makes him feel like he failed somewhere when one of his children gets hurt, and it has taken a lot to realize that accidents happen no matter what.

"Yeah, we did good."

A few seconds of silence ebb by before Stiles asks, "Do you think when Nate turns eighteen he'll ask for the bite? I mean, he's extremely strong for a human and he seems content; but I wonder if he ever gets upset that he's the only one that can get sick."

"I don't think he cares much anymore. He just had to discover his strengths and weaknesses for himself, and he is stronger as a human. But I guess if he ever asked I would make him a werewolf. It's just hard seeing him suffer and not being able to do anything to help."

Stiles nods. Another few moments of silence pass before Stiles adds:

"I don't know if we'll be able to handle a werewolf version of Nate though!"

"Oh, don't give me nightmares," Derek says and Stiles chuckles. "Those twins are something else."

Stiles rubs the older man's arm in comfort, "They take after you. Laura totally takes after me."

Derek snorts a laugh, "Keep telling yourself that, babe."

Stiles reaches up, places a quick kiss to his mate's lips, then cuddles back into Derek.

"You better sleep while you can. Those boys are going to try to make up for all the time they missed out on making our lives chaotic." Stiles yawns sleepily.

Derek smirks and kisses the top of his husband's head. He knows Stiles is right, but he would take two energetic boys over a sick one any day.


	9. 16th Birthday

~~~~So, so sorry for the long wait! School has been crazy lately! Thanks for reading. Hopefully the next chapter will be up in a week (instead of 4)~~~~

The day has been fun- a big pack gathering in celebration of Nathan and Logan's 16th birthday. They all still live in the Beacon Hills Preserve together, but, as the years have gone by, they don't spend quite as much time with each other.

After eating lunch, everyone played a few games. Then, they began tearing into the dessert. Each twin got their own cake this year. Nathan chose vanilla because, as Logan stated, he's 'boring like that.' Nathan said Logan was 'an idiot' because he couldn't decide on a flavor in time, so he got stuck with vanilla, too. Both cakes had four layers, and each layer had four marzipan decorations that represented a part of their personality.

Nathan's cake was decorated with:

a leather jacket because he's exactly like Derek

a wolf because he's pack

a wolfsbane flower because he has learned how to protect his family

a taco because tacos are awesome

a heart because he is passionate

a book because he's always reading and learning

a pair of headphones because music is his life

a chocolate chip cookie because he has a sweet tooth

a camera because he has picked up his father's love of photography

a pirate because they're so much better than ninjas

a lacrosse stick because he's the team captain

a guitar because Uncle Scott taught him how to play

a cherry because that's the best flavor in the world

a pair of sunglasses because he's cool

a blue shirt because blue is the best color

and a spatula because Stiles has made him the best chef in all of Beacon Hills

Logan's cake was decorated with:

a striped shirt because, though he takes after Stiles, plaid is just too much

a wolf because, duh, he's a werewolf

a boxing glove because he protects his family

a box of curly fries because curly fries are awesome

a brain because it's gross, plus he can think of a way out of any situation

a laptop because he's constantly researching something

a video game controller because games are his life

a sugar cookie because anything with sugar is amazing

a paint brush because he can draw and paint just about anything

a ninja because they're so much better than pirates

a baseball bat because he's the best player on the team

a drum set because Stiles taught him how to play

a pineapple because that's the best flavor in the world

a pair of glasses because he wears them to make him look as smart as he actually is

a red cap because red is the best color

and a joke book because he is the best comedian in the whole pack

Then they started opening presents. Logan ripped through the paper like a wild animal. Nathan neatly pulled back the wrapping and refused to rip or tear it. Each of them got a new laptop, some clothes, and some gift cards. But…

"Dad, you don't have to cover my eyes. You told me not to look, so I won't." Nathan grumbles as his father leads him out onto the porch. Derek's acting more like a kid than the actual kids are.

"Just hold on." Derek leads him down the stairs and positions him in the right spot. Nathan still can't see anything, but apparently his dad has.

"Der… You said you wouldn't… They were supposed to share the Jeep until they can pay for their own…" Stiles whines.

Derek shakes his head. "You know them, they won't share." He then takes his hands away from his son's eyes.

Nathan blinks for a second before he realizes that he is actually seeing what he is seeing. Don't let anyone say anything different though, because he did NOT squeal. "Oh my gosh." He drops down in front of the motorcycle and stares at it.

Stiles steps off the porch and walks over to them. "Derek, he can't keep that… He'll kill himself."

"No, he won't. He'll be fine." He smiles.

"You gotta take it back."

Nathan looks back at them from where he's kneeling. "He can't."

"Now, Nate…"

"No, I mean he really can't." He looks at his father and grins. "You can't take it back, can you?"

"What's he talking about, Der?" Stiles asks.

Derek sighs. "It's mine… from when I was a kid." He turns to Nathan as he stands up. "How'd you know?"

"There's a dent in the back that matches the dent in the motorcycle in the picture in the box Grandpa gave you."

"It was worse than that when I found it under the house before we restored it." He puts his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "I've been working on it for close to a year now."

Nathan turns around and hugs him. "Thanks, Dad. I love it." He pulls away and stands in front of Stiles. "Please, Dad! Please, let me have it."

Stiles looks at his son. His pouting lips, clasped hands, and puppy dog eyes are killing him. So are the pouting lips, clasped hands, and puppy dog eyes of his husband… Stiles groans. "You can keep it." Nathan jumps forward and hugs him. "BUT! If you go out and kill yourself on it, I'm going to kill you."

Logan leans forward off the porch. "Actually, if he…"

"Szt!" Stiles cuts him off with a sound and a swift hand motion. He stares at Nate. "Promise me you'll be careful. You have to wear a helmet. And, no one rides with you. Don't you dare let Lycea ride on the back. She'll fall off and die, and…"

"Dad, I'll be fine. I won't do anything stupid. I swear."

"Fine."

"Thanks." Nathan turns back to Derek and hugs him again. "I love you, Dad."


	10. My Heart Belongs to You

Logan and Alexis have always been pretty close. She's only about a year younger than him, so they played with each other all the time. They're pack, so, yeah, they're close… just not as close as Alexis would like them to be.

She never really thought about him in a way other than PACK until she was in the third grade. His fourth grade classroom was right across the hall, and she was always able to catch glances of him as he walked past the door. All the third grade girls liked Logan. They thought his goofiness was "attractive". Everyone told Alexis how lucky she was to know him so well. She'd never thought it was lucky to know him before, but the more she thought about it…

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to be closer to him. She wanted him to pick her for his team at recess. She wanted to get a spot by him when the pack formed big puppy piles after a long day of training. She wanted him.

He just didn't want her. She tried everything to get him to notice her, but nothing worked. She'd pick him flowers and make him mud pies. She'd spend all her money trying to find him the perfect birthday gift. But, nothing worked. He'd ignore her. He'd push her away. He'd sigh and say, "Stop bugging me or I'm going to tell my dad!".

She wouldn't stop, though, so Logan would stomp up to Derek and whine for him to do something. Derek would say "go talk to your dad", so Logan would go to Stiles. Stiles would tell Alexis to leave Logan alone. She would… for a minute at most… Then, Stiles would go to Lydia and tell her to keep Alexis away from his poor son.

Lydia would just smirk and say "now you know how it feels, Stilinski." Stiles apologizes about his life-long crush for the hundredth time, and Lydia "promises" she'll talk to her daughter. She not so secretly thinks the role reversal is hilarious.

So, that's the way things go FOR YEARS. The pack gets invited to another pack's wedding once. Alexis mopes the whole dinner because Logan refuses to sit by her at the kids' table. He has his eyes set on a young girl from the other pack and makes puppy dog eyes at her the whole night. Alexis refuses to be jealous. She refuses to let her crush's crush ruin her time at the reception… She mopes.

"Alexis, no!" Logan argues. "I will not dance with you!"

"Puh-lease! Logan, it's just one dance. I'll leave you alone for the rest of my life, if you just dance with me."

"You're lying."

"Looooogan!"

"NOOO!"

The wedding ceremony and reception are full of werewolf tradition, but there are also a lot of modern touches. Alexis does a secret handshake with Nathan before she runs to the bouquet toss. Nathan pulls the groom out of hearing range and whispers his plot. When Alexis catches the bride's flowers, she lets out a high pitched squeal. When the garter hits Logan in the face he growls. He growls like he's personally offended by it. Derek smirks.

Alexis runs to Logan and tries to pull him out of his seat. "Now we have to dance!"

"NO!"

"LOGANNNNNNN!" she whines.

Stiles nudges his son. "Logan, it's just one dance."

"But, Dad!"

"Logan," Derek sternly responds. Logan lowers his head as he lets himself be led to the dance floor.

Logan never returns Alexis's affections until the day she almost dies.

* * *

The pack teenagers are rough-housing out behind the house. Well, everyone but Nathan who is woefully sitting on a log because Lycea is out of town for the weekend and he hasn't seen her in twenty-two hours.

Michael, Boyd and Erica's son, doesn't mean to trip Alexis, but her foot catches on his foot, and suddenly she's falling. No one is too worried about catching her because, after all, she's a werewolf. They all break bones on a daily basis when they're playing rough. Usually, it's just snap, pop, and Voila!- completely healed. Usually.

Alexis's head smacks hard against a half buried chunk of concrete. The sound makes everyone's stomachs twist, but they don't really think much of it… until they realize she's not moving.

Nathan rushes toward her and gently rolls her over onto her back. The blood is streaming down her face like a river. Logan's chest clenches, and he suddenly feels like he can't breathe. Why isn't she healing?

Luke and Wyatt howl for their parents, and soon the whole pack is gathered around. Alexis is still unconscious, but the wound does look like it's beginning to heal. Jackson cradles her in his arms and rushes back to the house. The pack follows- all except Logan.

Derek turns back to him. His son's wide eyes are still staring at the bloody rock.

"Logan." When he doesn't respond, Derek moves to stand in front of him. "Logan."

Logan's eyes flit up to his father's face. "She fell."

"I know. Logan, are you okay?" Derek snaps his fingers in front of his son's face. "Are. You. Okay?"

"I… yeah, I'm…Her head… There was so much blood. What… What if she…"

Derek squeezes his shoulder. "She's going to be fine. She was already healing when we got here."

"What if she died?"

"She's not going to die, son."

"But what if she did? I… She's annoying and sometimes I just want to kick her, but…"

"She's pack. I get it. She bugs you, but you still like her."

Logan feels like his stomach is in knots. He wishes he could just throw up and make the horrible feeling go away, but he can't. He's lost to his own thoughts again as his father slowly leads him back to the house.

When he sees Alexis, it feels like his chest is about to explode. She's okay. Perfectly healthy, conscious, and healed. He fights back to urge to run and hug her- to smell her and make sure she's really okay. She turns and looks at him. She's still a little pale, but she acts normal. He's still staring at her.

She looks at him strangely. "Are you okay?"

He immediately blushes and dips his head. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine." He sucks in a breath. "You're fine, too. Yay." His whole body looks as red as a pomegranate now, and he rushes out of the room.

Alexis is sleeping peacefully. A soft whine fills the air, and she rises up in bed.

"Logan?" He's standing at the foot of her bed. "What's wrong?"

He is by her side in an instant. He gently brushes back her hair and rubs his thumb across her forehead. He whines again.

"I'm fine." Alexis states to reassure him.

He can't help but whine again. He drops his eyes so he isn't looking directly at her. "I know. I just… wanted to see for myself."

"Logan?"

"Yeah?"

Alexis smiles. "I'm going back to sleep now." She starts to lie back down.

"Wait!" Logan blushes and looks anywhere but her face. "I'm glad you're okay." He takes a few deep breaths before leaning in. He gently presses his lips to where the wound used to be.

He quickly jerks back and dashes out of the bedroom. Alexis falls back asleep with a smile playing at her lips.


	11. Over the river and through the woods

Yiayia loves to be with Lycea and Nathan. She looks forward to their visits and always insists on fixing them brunch. Nathan loves her homemade coffeecake, and he always drinks her tea- even though he does it mostly just to be nice. Lycea's grandmother has invited them up to her house again, and they have accepted. She lives quite a few miles away from Beacon Hills, but the couple would have gotten there an hour ago if they hadn't taken a little detour…

Lycea quickly pulls up her jeans and hands Nathan's t-shirt back to him. It's a little cramped in the back of the vehicle, but it was totally worth it. Nathan smiles and kisses her before he makes his way back into the driver's seat. She falls into the passenger's seat beside him and begins reapplying her makeup.

Nathan pulls out of the camping area behind the small rest stop and continues on the way to Yiayia's house. He turns to his girlfriend and grins. "My dad would kill me if he knew we just had sex in the back of his Jeep."

"Why does your grandmother like me so much?" Nathan asks as he pulls up in the driveway.

"I don't know, but she really does love you. You made such a good impression with her- much better than I did with your family."

"Oh, come on." Nathan reassures her as he closes his door and walks around to the passenger side to open her door for her. "They love you now!"

"Yeah, well, at first they hated me." Lycea does a final check of her clothing before heading up to the front door.

Yiayia welcomes them with multiple hugs and multiple kisses. She hurries them into the small parlour and sets about cutting them each a slice of coffeecake. "It was warm two hours ago, you know, when you were supposed to be here."

"We got caught in some traffic, yiayia."

"I bet it will still be delicious," Nathan smiles.

"Well, of course!" The old woman hands him his plate. "Tea?"

"Yes, please."

She shuffles out of the room to grab the teapot and some teacups.

Lycea turns to him. "Why do you drink that stuff?"

Nathan shrugs. "She thinks I really like it. I've had it every time we've been here. I hate to come out and tell her it's disgusting now."

"Just tell her. I don't see how you can stand to swallow it. She used to offer it to me, too. The smell of it alone is enough to knock you out." Lycea shudders.

"It's not that bad."

Yiayia soon returns with Nathans tea. He thanks her and drinks it. It really isn't that bad… It would actually taste kind of sweet and delicious if it weren't so bitter. The three of them sit and talk for a while. The woman shows Nathan an old photo album full of Lycea's baby pictures. Nathan enjoys it, but Lycea is thoroughly embarrassed. That's how she usually ends up feeling on these trips to see her grandmother. She loves her dearly, but every single time they visit yiayia says or does something completely mortifying.

As the couple start to leave, yiayia offers Nathan some tea to take home with him. He politely refuses multiple times. They get in the old Jeep and head off down the road. They drive through a small state park and "see the sights" for an hour or so. Then, they head to a gas station and use the coin operated machines to sweep, wash, and steam the back of the Jeep, so Stiles will be none the wiser about the things his son is up to.

Nate and Lycea stop for ice cream and end up playfully smashing the soft serve into each other's faces. They both love days like this. They're completely by themselves and can do whatever they want. It's fun to just do whatever. Once, on their way back to Beacon Hills, they stopped at a random movie theater and saw a random movie. It was a foreign comedy about… something… they don't really know. They didn't pay attention to the subtitles and instead whispered their own dialogue to each other.

But, today there's no movie, just ice cream. Soon, the day is almost over and they have to head back home. Nathan drops Lycea off in front of her house. Her mother is enjoying the coolness of the evening by planting some new petunias in the landscaping. She looks up and waves at Nathan. He waves back with a smile. He assures Lycea that he'll see her tomorrow and pulls back out into the street.

A dark grey car pulls out into the street behind him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

As always, thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated. I'd love for you to leave me some suggestions on what to write! I'm not sure how to finish out this section of my series, but I already have Part 7 written! I'm so excited to post Part 7- it's a little different than these past few sections. It's a little darker like "Dying Embers" was, and I love it! But, in the mean time, please comment and leave me suggestions on what you'd like to see!


	12. Not Really a Chapter, Sorry

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry readers, this isn't really a new chapter. :( I know, I've failed you as a writer, but... I don't have any inspiration for any new ficlets for this part, BUT I've been working really hard on Part 7 of this series. So, PLEASE go read "From an Ember to a Flame", the newest part to my series. It's quite a bit darker kinda like "Dying Embers" was, but I'm really liking it. Thank you so much! Love all my readers!


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